Are You Ready To Rumble?
By Mary Jane Schramm
On California’s shell-hashed sandy seafloor the combatants faced off. The smaller figure was a notable big-mouth—his booming voice reverberated all over the neighborhood. Before him stood an attacker over 16 times his size, but our hero remained undaunted, because he wasn’t all talk. He was an aggressive hunter, a club-fisted pugilist with superpower eyesight that could detect an enemy—or a meal—at incredible distances. And his armory was impressive.
Flinging his forelimbs wide in a “meral spread” he reared up to seem as formidable as possible, hoping his opponent would back down. No luck; but at just the right moment he flew with lightning speed at the behemoth, wielding his secret weapon: his “fists,” called dactile clubs, struck out at 45mph, the speed of a .22 caliber bullet; the fastest strike speed in the animal kingdom. But he had an invisible weapon, too: he could weaponize water! The 160+ lbs. of strike force superheated the water in front of each club, creating a bubble that, on imploding, added a violent shock wave to the hit. It was a TKO; the enemy slinked away.
Float like a Butterfly: This “Ali of the Sea” is a California mantis shrimp, Hemisquilla californiensis; aka blue leg mantis shrimp. It is a member of the order stomatopoda, carnivorous marine crustaceans. There are nearly 500 species worldwide, mostly tropical. Despite its shrimpy moniker, they are more closely related to the lobsters they resemble, and Californiensis is one of four mantis shrimp species that inhabit the soft sand and mud substrate of California’s cool, temperate waters from Panama through Southern California. They are abundant and important predators in the marine food web whose prey include other small crustaceans, snails, worms, clams, urchins, sea stars, and fish. In addition to their clubs, they have powerful raptorials - special grasping foreleg adaptations to attack, shred, and dismember prey. In addition to our “clubby” species, other mantis shrimp use spearlike forelimbs to impale objects, and in Australia are affectionately called, "thumb splitters."
Rumble Fish: At just over a foot in length, these typically solitary sea creatures, though abundant, are rarely seen, spending most of their time concealed among rocks or in intricate labyrinths excavated into the sea floor. Mantis shrimps communicate with loud, rhythmic, low-frequency rumbles by flexing the muscles of their carapace (shell), similar on the sound spectrum to those that elephants produce. Eavesdropping scientists have discovered that each has an individual voice. These sonic signals may be territorial declarations, or invitations to amour, their cozy burrows making seductive echo chambers.
The Matrimonial Mantis: These creatures also use body language like flashing colors to indicate moods. They recognize familiar individuals, demonstrating complex social behaviors to assert their territorial and familial claims. Mantis shrimps may live 30 years, and spawn regularly for as many breeding cycles. Some species are monogamous, and even have male-female sharing of egg-tending duties. Others prefer a little more diversity in their associations.
The Eyes Have It: The mantis’ true superpower, however, may lie in their eyes, which are so complex in processing light and color, their vision far surpasses ours, even being sensitive to UV light. They can also see polarized light, which contributed to the development of camera technology used in cancer detection.
See how our hero’s battle played out at National Geographic https://youtu.be/Hwji93BVjnI. Check out more shrimp lore at KQED’s Deep Look at https://youtu.be/Lm1ChtK9QDU. And next time you’re tempted to call someone a shrimp, think twice: it could be more compliment than criticism.
Images (clockwise from upper left):
• Peacock mantis 'shrimp' looking mighty lobster-like. Credit: Roy Caldwell, p.d..
• Mantis defends burrow. Credit: Roy Caldwell, p.d.
• California mantis "shrimp" resembles lobster "cousins." Credit: Erik Staaterman.
• Peacock mantis' clubs pack explosive punch. Credit: Silke Baron (CC by 2.0)
NOAA TALKING SHRIMP MINI-DOC: • https://oceantoday.noaa.gov/newsoftheday_talkingshrimp/
• WITH FOSSIL IMAGE
https://oceantoday.noaa.gov/newsoftheday_talkingshrimp/
NOAA National Ocean Service
Patek lab: https://vimeo.com/227092570
